Nikon D3300 vs D3200 vs D3100: 07 Shooting modes

Interestingly, though, the Nikon D3300 adds an Effects setting to the mode dial. Previously only seen on the D5000-series cameras, these offer 13 different special effects including a ‘Pop’ super-saturated colour mode, a Toy Camera mode and for the first time on a Nikon DSLR a new Panorama mode – though while Nikon claims this produces ‘high-resolution’ images, they aren’t at the full resolution of the sensor itself.

It’s interesting that the Nikon D3300 appears to be encroaching on the territory of the D5000-series Nikon DSLRs, which are the next step up in the range.

The Nikon D3100’s processing power is stretched to the limit, and can only manage 24fps video at this resolution, while the Nikon D3200 offered faster 30p (progressive) and 25p frame rates. The Nikon D3300 takes it further still, though, adding 60p and 50p frame rates.

What this means in practice is that in addition to regular movies, you can now shoot half-speed full-HD movies to create high-res slow-motion footage.

Nikon D3300 vs D3200 vs D3100: 09 LCD display

All three of these cameras come with a 3-inch LCD display, but the one fitted to the Nikon D3100 is a low-resolution (by today’s standards) 230,000-dot screen.

The big step came with the D3200, which has a 921K-dot LCD display, and this is much sharper and crisper than the D3100’s. The screen on the Nikon D3300 is the same as the D3200’s before it.

It’s a really good display, in fact, but fixed in place – it doesn’t flip out and rotate like the screens on Nikon’s D5000-series cameras. This isn’t really a surprise, since the articulating screen is one of the selling points of the D5000-series cameras, and Nikon wouldn’t want the D3300 to steal their thunder.